Knockdown stand for holding bottles



May 10, 1960 c. w. OTIS xwocxoowu STAND FOR HOLDING BOTTLES Filed April 27, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 y 1960 c. w. OTIS 2,936,144

KNOCKDOWN STAND FOR HOLDING BOTTLES Filed April 27, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 56 60 g United States Patent Ce KNOCKDOWN STAND FOR HOLDING BOTTLES Carl W. ous, Wilmette, 111.

Application April 27, 1955, Serial No. 504,156

3 Claims. (Cl. 248150) This invention relates to bottle holders and the like, and more particularly to an improved collapsible bottle holder for supporting relatively small bottles of various shapes in an upright stable position.

Glue, paint, and other materials are frequently sold in small light weight bottles, such as, for example, those used by children in the making of models. These bottles are inconvenient to handle, and because of their shape and weight are unstable if placed on a table top. The slightest jarring of the table, or an inadvertent touching of the bottles, causes them to overturn and spill their contents. There is the added factor that because of the unstable nature of such bottles, it is generally necessary for an operator to hold the bottle in one hand while holding a brush or stylus in his other hand. Needless to say, the operators hands under such circumstances are not free to hold the object worked on. For the above reasons it is desirable that a bottle holder be provided to prevent tipping and to free the hands of the operator.

Heretofore, to my knowledge, there have not been any bottle holders commercially accepted by the public because of a number of factors. Primarily, there have been no bottle holders which have been economical to manufacture. It is to be noted that the matter of expense is of primary importance because it is contemplated that the invention herein will find great usefulness in connection with small bottles of glue, paint, or other materials sold in hobby shops to children. Needless to say, a holder adapted for such a use must be very inexpensive to manufacture in order to be within the means of the average child working with such supplies. As a factor reducing the cost of manufacture it is contemplated that, except for an elastic member, the device herein may be manufactured from a single piece of material held in integral form until it is used. This materially reduces handing and packaging costs. The single units may be conveniently stacked taking up little storage space. It is also contemplated that the invention herein be provided with a holder for a paint brush or other article, thereby preventing damage to the working surface and conveniently positioning the brush for use by an operator.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a bottle holder which is simple in construction and inexpensive to manufacture.

It is another object of the invention to form the device of a single piece of material held in integral form until it is used.

It is yet another object of the invention herein to provide a brush or stylus holder for use in association with a bottle holder.

Heretofore, to my knowledge, there have been no bottle holders that have been satisfactorily adjustable; or that could be collapsed or disassembled for storage in a convenient small package; or that had satisfactory means for protecting the underlying surface beneath the bottle in the event of spilling; or that supplied a sturdy sup- 2,936,144 Patented May 10, 1960 port for all shapes of bottles. The invention herein contemplates the provision of a bottle holder providing the foregoing features.

It is another object of the invention herein to provide a bottle holder that is collapsible and may be stored in a convenient small package.

It is yet another object of the invention herein to provide a bottle holder that will accommodate various sizes and shapes of bottles.

It is still another object of the invention herein to provide a'bottle holder that protects the underlying surface, such as, for example, a dining room table top on which the bottle is used.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a novel means for holding the parts of the bottle holder in assembled relationship.

It is another object of the invention herein to provide a novel means for obtaining rigidity of the various elements comprising the invention herein.

It is a further object to provide a novel means for holding the legs or support members of the bottle holder herein in retracted position.

These and other objectswill be apparent from the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals are used to.

designate similar parts throughout:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the invention herein; i

Fig. 2 is an elevational view, partially in section, taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of some of the elements shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan view of the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention herein;

Fig. 6 is an elevational view of one of the support members illustrating an improved interconnection with the base member;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary bottom plan view taken along the line 7-7 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showing flange supports afiixed to the supporting members;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary end view taken along the lines 9-9 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a plan view of a cut out blank forming a modification of the invention herein; and

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of the modification shown in Fig. 10 with the parts assembled for use.

Referring now with greater particularity to the drawings thereis shown therein a bottle 10 supported by a bottle holder 12. The bottle holder consists of a base member or portion 14, vertical support members 16, and an elastic or resilient member 18 for holding the parts in assembled relationship.

Referring now to Fig. 3, it will be noted that the base member 14 preferably is flat and is substantially square in configuration, with rounded corners 20. In the discussion to follow, specific measurements will be given for various parts. It is to be under-stood that these measurements apply to a specific embodiment only and are not to be interpreted as limiting the scope of the base member in the specific embodiment described of at least the thickness indicated in order that it may provide a supporting means for the vertical member to be discussed hereinafter. Extending in from all four sides of the base member, and centrally located thereon, are1 slots 22. These slots are approximately inch in width to the bottle holder.

and extend in from the sides of the base member approximately /2 inch.

The vertical support members 16 are triangular in shape with a surface engaging edge 24 and a vertical edge 26. Extending in from the vertical edge is a horizontal slot 28. This slot is approximately A; inch in width and extends in from the vertical edge approximately Vs inch. The slot is placed approximately /8 inch above the surface engaging edge 24 and is parallel thereto. Extending obliquely upward from the supporting edge 24 is another slot 30. This slot is angularly disposed to the surface engaging edge 24, forming an angle of approximately 45 degrees therewith. The slot is very narrow, being approximately inch in width, and extends up from the surface. engaging edge approximately 7 inch. There are four vertical support members 16, and they are all of like configuration. It will, therefore, be unnecessary to describe more than one of them. The vertical support members are formed in a triangular shape in order to save material, and therefore reduce manufacturing costs. There is the additional factor that the triangular shape of these members gives a pleasing appearance Referring to Fig. 4 there is shown therein the elastic member 18. This elastic member may take the form of a standard rubber band, but any resilient material would suffice for the purpose herein.

I Discussing now the manner in which the bottle holder is assembled, each of the vertical support members 16 is fitted into the base member 14 by sliding the groove 28 of the vertical support members over the base member 14.

grooves will support the complementary par-ts fitting therein. This operation is repeated for each of the four vertical members. the resilient member 18 is inserted in the grooves 30 in each of the vertical support members 16. It will be seen that the resilient member will then tend to pull each of the vertical support members towards the center of the base member. Such movement of each of the vertical members 16, will, of course, be limited by the depth of the slots 22 and 28. As noted in Fig. 1, the device, while in operation, is capable of supporting a relatively small bottle. If it is desired to support a bottle of larger size, each of the vertical support members is retracted against the force of the resilient member 18 and in this manner the vertical supports are spread apart to accommodate a bottle of larger size. The resilient member, in. urging the vertical members toward the center of the base member, causes a gripping of the bottle to resist accidental removal of the same.

Because the vertical support members 16 contact the bottle-to be held at spaced positions, namely along the edges 26, it is apparent that the holder will accommodate bottles of various sizes and shapes. More particularly, the. bottle to be supported may be circular in cross section,.rectangular, or even of asymmetrical configuration, and may vary from top to bottom.

It should be noted that the bottle rests on the central portionof. the base member 14, and in this manner any fluid spilled or overflowing the bottle when in use is caught by the base member. This feature is of considerable importance because: it prevents defacingof the. surface on which the bottle holder rests by spilling or overflowing of the contents of the bottle.

Referring now to Fig. 5 there is shown therein another embodiment of the invention herein,.which diflers only'sli'ghtly. from that disclosed in Figs. 1-4', heretofore described. In. the embodiment in Fig. 5, the grooves 34 Because.

Thevdevice is then turned over and in the base member 14a extend in from the corners 20a instead of from the center of the side edges of the base member. The grooves 34 are of the same width, namely A; inch, as the grooves 22 in the base member 14. They extend in from the corners, towards the center of the base member, approximately inch. By providing grooves extending in from the corners instead of grooves extending in from the center of the side edges of the base member, the device is capable of supporting bottles of a larger size. 1

As mentioned heretofore, if it is desired to move the vertical members outwardly from the center of the base member to accommodate a bottle of larger size, it is necessary to move the vertical members against the force of the elastic member 18. If the vertical members 16 are free to slide over the base member 14, it might prove diflicult to hold each one of these members in retracted position while the others are moved outwardly to assume similar retracted positions. In order to obviate this difficulty it is contemplated that the undersurface of the base member 14 be roughened, or that projections 36 as shown in Fig. 6 be provided. As the vertical member 16 is retracted against the force of the resilient member 18, point 38 on the edge 26 engages projections '36 on the'underside of the base member. Therefore, each of the vertical members may in turn be retracted against the force of the resilient member 18 without the necessity of holding one of them while the othersare operatedon.

As noted heretofore, the rigidity of the device is dependent up a'close tight fit between the slots 22 and 28 Y and the body portion of the base member 14 and the body portion 32 of the vertical member. It is impractical to have these elements fit'too tightly as it would make operation of the device difiicult. Therefore,- a: certain amount of clearance is necessary. If too much clearance is provided, the verticalmembers will not be held rigidly,v

and the device might not be as stable as desired. To

' obviate this difliculty the invention herein contemplates in another modification of the invention herein. This modification contemplates a simple method of manufacturing the invention so that the base and supporting members are integrally connected until such time as the device is'first used. More particularly, in this embodiment, the base 50 is integrally connected with thesupporting members 52 by fracturab'le connections 54.- The device is conveniently sold as a one piece unit in this attached form, and when it is put into use the connections 54 are severed by bending the vertical support members 52 out of; the plane of the base member 50. The device is then assembled and used in the manner heretofore de scribed, and as shown in Fig. 11.

As will be seen in Fig. 10 the device may be readily manufactured from a single square piece of Masonite or other material. The grooves 56 extend in from opposite edges of the square, and grooves 58 and 60 extend in from the other two sides. It will be seen that these grooves correspond togrooves 28, 30 and 34 of the embodiments shown in Figs. 1 to 5. Diagonal cuts 62 extend in from the center of each side of the square. The cuts. 62 extending, inwardly from adjacent sides. of the square approach each other, and are separated by the fracturable connectionsv 54. The inner boundary of cuts 62 forms the outer edge of the base member 50, and the outer boundary of cuts 62 forms one edge of each of the vertical support members 52. The cuts and grooves are all made at one time by a punch and die in a stamping operation, but, if so desired, they may be individually formed by saw cuts extending inwardly from the periphery of the blank. It is thus apparent that the device herein may be conveniently formed from a single square piece of material appropriately cut to provide the grooves heretofore described. The obvious advantage of forming the unit of a single piece of material that may be broken apart to form the operative parts of a bottle holder is that such a unit needs no complicated or expensive packaging. The units may be conveniently stacked and stored, and handling costs are reduced.

Referring to Fig. 11 it will be seen that cut in from one diagonal edge of one of the vertical members 52 is a semi-circular depression or groove 64, shown also in Fig. 10, which serves as a holder for a paint brush or other article. It is obvious that multiple grooves of this type could be provided on each vertical member if so desired. The desirability of such a holder is that it supports the brush in such a manner that it is readily accessible for use and prevents damage to a table top or other surface on which it might be placed were the holder not provided. The recess 64 is stamped at the same time as the cuts and grooves are stamped while the unit is still in the form of a single piece of material as shown in Fig. 10, but may be cutout later if so desired.

From the foregoing it is apparent that the invention herein is of simple construction and inexpensive to manufacture. It takes only a few moments to assemble the device, and even a young child would be capable of putting it into operation.

The device is also easily disassembled. All that needs to be done is to remove the elastic member 18 and to pull the vertical members 16 out from their interlocking positions on the base member 14. Because all of the pieces are capable of lying flat, they may be stacked one upon the other and the elastic member wound therearound to keep the pieces together. It is apparent that the device in a collapsed condition may readily be stored in a convenient small package.

Although certain specific embodiments of the invention herein have been shown for purposes of illustration, it

is to be understood that various changes and modifications can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the invention is to be limited only as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A holder for an upright receptacle such as a bottle comprising: a horizontally disposed base plate having a central portion and a plurality of slots extending radially inwardly from regularly spaced peripheral positions, said slots terminating at said central portion; a plurality of vertically disposed support members individually slidably received in said slots, each of said support members having an elongated vertical portion for engaging a sidewall of a receptacle and having a slot slidably embracing said central portion; and common resilient means engaging and simultaneously biassing all of the said support members toward said central portion.

2. A holder as set forth in claim 1 wherein each support member has a notch therein opening edgewise away from the vertical portion, and wherein the common resilient means comprises an endless elastic member received in all of such notches.

3. A holder as set forth in claim 2 wherein the elastic member comprises a rubber band.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 77,442 Blake May 5, 1868 338,923 Carr 1. Mar. 30, 1886 357,792 Smith Feb. 15, 1887 375,406 Wilson et al Dec. 27, 1887 904,758 Cropp Nov. 24, 1908 1,148,070 Billingsley July 27, 1915 1,300,635 Mutch Apr. 15, 1919 1,832,801 Wright Nov. 17, 1931 1,839,889 Palais Jan. 5, 1932 1,940,117 Carpos Dec. 19, 1933 2,327,403 Coupanger Aug. 24, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 456,922 Italy Apr. 29, 1950 

